


Elevator Love

by Tiger_Lilly



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cuddling in an Elevator, Fluff, John is an idiot, John's POV, Just a cute little One-Shot really, M/M, One Shot, POV First Person, Pining, Sherlock and John are Neighbours, Sherlock and John get stuck in an Elevator, Sherlock is Shy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-09 03:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20988215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiger_Lilly/pseuds/Tiger_Lilly
Summary: Sherlock is John's gorgeous Neighbour and recently the protagonist in most of his dreams. There is only one problem though: John has never talked to him.On one fateful afternoon, the Elevator suddenly stops working, trapping both John and Sherlock inside a tiny space.Will John finally be able to talk to this beautiful stranger, and maybe get an answer on why he always seems to be ignoring John?





	Elevator Love

John made his way through the crowds in the streets, being pushed and shoved as he walked on the wrong side of the sidewalk. He could have crossed the street to walk on the right sidewalk, but then he had to cross it again in about 200 meters and honestly that was just too much trouble.

He entered a large gray building, one of the few that was actually still made out of brick and possessed a very special english charm.  
Where it was old-fashioned and cold on the exterior, it kind of had a vibe similar to a Hotel once you were inside. Dim, yellow lamps cast a warm glow along beige/brownish walls and the corridors were laid out with soft, red carpets.

John loved this building and he thanked life’s little miracles everyday that his estranged aunt had somehow bequeathed him the flat on the fourth floor in this apartment complex in central London.

The apartment itself was not the only reason why he thanked life’s little wonders though. No, the bigger and most important reason was that a beautiful stranger had rented a flat in the very same building just a few weeks prior and was frequently using the elevator when John used it.  
John tried not to be too eager, once he spotted the beautiful black curls behind a short, but remarkably big woman on the elevator.

"Four please!“ He said, when he stepped through the metal doors into the little box.

The young man looked up at that and for a second their eyes met, but then he looked away again and hid himself further behind the woman. Said woman smiled sweetly at John and pressed the button with the number four on it. John tried not to show his disappointment at the briefness of the eye contact. It was always like that. The man only ever looked at John for about three seconds before he found a way to politely ignore him. Whether it was by tapping rapidly on his phone or now by hiding behind the nice woman and studying his own shoes.

That was quite the sight though, seeing the very tall, very thin man hide behind a woman that had to be at least two heads shorter than him, but twice as big. He would have to crouch down to half his size (which he did) and yet John could still make out his mob of dark curls. John had to suppress the laughter that bubbled up in him at this, quite frankly, ridiculous scene.  
He hoped though, that the stranger was simply shy and not outright ignoring him because he found John repulsive.

When the woman got off on the second floor there was no room for the tall man to go and John was glad that he could look at him proper now. The man was always remarkably dressed, which was no different today. He wore perfectly tailored suit trousers with a purple shirt, but no tie. The first three buttons of his shirt were undone, giving way to a pale long neck and a lovely set of collarbones.

Raking his eyes further up John found surprisingly full and soft looking lips, that were slightly parted in a silent "oh“.  
His cheeks were tinted with a lovely shade of pink and John suspected, that his ears underneath the curls would be even redder. Finally arriving at the eyes John could make out two distinctly gray eyes that looked right back at him and seemed to darken with every second. John experienced a feeling of having been caught red handed at doing something naughty and he could feel his own face starting to heat. He didn’t dare break eye contact with his neighbour though. He had waited all this time to make a move on him and here it was, a chance to do just that. He only had to open his mouth and introduce himself. He was just about to do that when the elevator suddenly rattled and the came to an abrupt stop. The lights flickered, but after a moment they turned off as well.

"Shit!“ John breathed. „On two accounts“, he thought, but left that out.

He couldn’t see anything and his blood was rushing so loud that he couldn’t hear anything either. _Great! This is just spectacular! My only chance with my crush and we are going to die!_

After a few minutes he had finally calmed down enough to see that his eyes had somehow adapted to the darkness and he was able to make out the stranger’s form, which was pressed up on the wall at the other side of the elevator. Wait, was he trembling?  
"Shit!“, John said again for a totally different reason.

He made his way slowly over to the side once, careful as to not tread too heavily for fear of making the elevator drop.

"Hey! Are you okay?“

The stranger gave no indication of having heard him, so John carefully put his hand on the man’s arm and tugged softly. That seemed to do the trick because the man suddenly surged forward, throwing himself into John and clinging onto him tightly. He was still trembling a lot, but John couldn’t help thinking that he was a bit grateful for the stranger’s fear. He allowed himself to hug back and whisper little "shhh“'s and "it’s okay, I’ve got you!“’s into his ear.

John deliberately used long and slow strokes up and down the guy’s back. He could feel the guy's trembling subside and even his breathing had calmed down somewhat.  
"Are you alright?“, John asked him again.

"Well no, obviously I’m not alright!“, The man snapped. _Tetchy!_

"Right, uhm, do you need anything?“, it was a stupid question and John mentally prepared himself for yet another scathing remark. This one definitely deserved one anyway.

The man was silent for a while and just as John thought he might never get an answer, the stranger finally said: “could you just...“, he cleared his throat, swallowing a few times before continuing.

"couldyoujustkeepholdingmeplease?“

"I’m sorry, what?“.

John had let go of his neighbour, facing him now and trying to make out his face. It was really hard to see anything in this darkness, but he also felt like the handsome man was deliberately obscuring his face, turning it just so that it was cast in a sea of shadows.

"I said, could-you-just-keep-holding-me-please!“ He sounded annoyed and a bit irritated, as if John was being deliberately obtuse.  
John was sure it was just a facade though, to hide his nervousness and embarrassment.

"Yeah, Yes of course!“, John grinned. He stepped closer and drew him into his arms again. At the first contact _Tall-and-Beautiful_ tensed up, but then he gradually relaxed until he finally let himself be held.  
_This is nice! I could stay like this forever!_ Just as John was thinking that, the overhead lights suddenly switched back on and the elevator started moving.

It took them just a few seconds to reach the fourth floor and before they knew what was happening, the elevator stopped and a high _ping_ announced, that the doors would now open.

John made his way to the door in a daze, but turned as he was halfway through. He didn’t want to leave this elevator, and especially not before at least getting this guy’s phone number.

With the lights back on he was finally able to see the other's face, and what he saw astonished him.

The young man was _gorgeous_! His cheeks were tinted in a lovely shade of rosé, making his cheekbones stand out even further and his eyes were a bit misty which gave them a remarkable glow. His lips were pressed into a thin line though and he hugged his upper body tightly, as if trying to keep his body warm after the loss of John’s closeness.

John had to fight the sudden urge of taking the man in his arms again and protecting him from all the harm that was lurking outside. 

Overcome by a sudden surge of courage, John finally asked: "Hey, would you maybe want to get coffee sometime?“

_Tall-and-Handsome_ looked up in surprise, his brows drawing together into a frown. "Um, I..., I don’t-“

"Shit, sorry you aren’t taken are you? I mean you probably are, just look at you!“ John made a vague motion towards his companion.

The guy literally looked at himself, his frown deepening in an obvious question.

"YOU’RE GORGEOUS!“, John yelled.

The man twitched a bit at that, but his cheeks were now rather taking on the colour of a ripe peach.

"Thank you, he rasped.“ "And no!“

"No?“, John asked. He shouldn’t be surprised to be turned down by a man like that. After all he was just too handsome and way out of John’s league. Hell, at least he had tried, right? Now he didn’t have to lay awake at night, thinking What if?!

"No, I am currently not in a relationship!“

"Oh?“, yes, great answer John, keep on like that and you’ll be rewarded the price of the smartest one-syllable-responses in history! If he doesn’t want to date you after this conversation, then I don’t know what!

"So you think I’m gorgeous?“, the man asked.

_HELL YES!_ "Yes!“

"And you want to go out with me?“

"Yes!“, John was very close to adding a please to that, but luckily he could stop himself at the last second.

"Okay!“

"Okay?“, John parroted.

"Yes! Okay! I will go out with you!“

"Oh, great, thanks!“

Suddenly the elevator alarm went off and John finally realised, that he was still standing on the threshold of the elevator. Blocking the doors and preventing them from closing.

"I should probably leave now!“, John said, not moving an inch.

"Yeah!“, Mr Gorgeous nodded.

Neither of them said anything after that, they just stared at each other.

"Right, uhm, I should really go now! There’s probably security coming to check what’s causing the disruption soon.“

"Yes, probably!

John still didn’t move until he finally asked:  
"Do you want to get that coffee now? There’s this little café right around the corner and it shouldn’t be too crowded at this hour!“

"I’d love to!“

"Really?“, John beamed. "Great, let’s go!“, suddenly he was very eager to leave this elevator. He held out his hand towards the other man and helped him over the threshold. He didn’t let it go once they were out of the elevator and going into the direction of the stairs. He didn’t even let go once they were out of the building. He was still holding it when they were at the café and drinking their first coffee together.

Today will be the first date with his beautiful neighbour - but it definitely would not be the last!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!  
Please leave Kudos and Comments if you liked this story! :)


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